Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ignacio10]

Hey guys, I've received a potential contract and they have a section on CCTV.

"VIII. CCTV: The purpose of CCTV is to (1) serve as a resource for all the instructors of the Institute, including the Employee and (2) to serve as a monitoring tool. The primary purpose of the CCTV is not for Institute and its training consultants to monitor Employee performance, but rather for all instructors, including the Employee, to continue developing their skills. Hence all instructors, including the Employee, will have access to (i) their own classroom footages and (ii) classroom footages of other instructors when accompanied by the head teacher or director of the Institute to examine teaching skills and methodologies. CCTV as a monitoring tool also serves as a blanket of protection. The Institute may verify student complaints and defend its instructors, including the Employee, when complaints are groundless."

Is this standard for the Korean classroom?
It has made me question whether or not to take the job.

Any help would be appreciated.

[globusmonkey]

CCTV is pretty common in hagwons and many other business in Korea. I wouldn't worry too much about it, as it mostly used to cover their butts if something ever went awry (i.e. something they could be found liable for), but I'm not sure why they state it in the contract. I've read a couple of stories of bosses who watched CCTV and would use it to criticize/evaluate/fire, but since those things don't have sound, it was probably a convenient excuse to get rid of a lousy teacher. That being said, don't plan on staring at your phone the whole class while the kids go wild...

Upon closer inspection of you post, it looks like they may use this for training, but like I said, without sound it will be mainly physical things or student responses. Video is a useful tool for a teacher, so if you're interested in improving or gaining feedback, this would be a good thing (I always request copies of video made from presentations or special classes). If you are really worried about it, ask a current teacher at the school how they utilize it. If you haven't been allowed to email or speak with a current teacher, that is a bigger warning sign than CCTV.

[zombiedog]

never teach at a place with CCTV. You should know better.

[rollo]

It can protect the teacher against unfounded allegations. Pretty common.

[le-paul]

it got my back up first time i saw a camera in the classroom. i came to realise that kids are often afraid of it though and you can threaten them with it. and as the others said, it covers you if any allegations are made against you. i also realised that if i stood under it, the director couldnt see me anyway.

[PigeonFart]

I liked having one in the classroom. Anytime a student ran amok, i just pointed at the camera. It had cohercive powers if used in the right way. Students are gullible, tell them its there so the princpal can watch and record the students behavior.

[Seoul_newbie]

a friend in China would bring his computer to class and tape the class as well, in case there was any discrepancy / the webcam didn't really capture what happened / to review his own teaching methods, and show the tape in case he got in trouble for bad teaching.